“Date a tennis player? No. Because I know what it takes to be in this business. It consumes so much of your life. I’m trying to keep my private life far away from the sport,” the 24-year-old German told CLAY in an interview in Melbourne during the Australian Open 2026.
Lys captivates her followers by sharing on Instagram her love for fashion, time with friends and her presence at music festivals. But that same exposure also makes her an easy target for criticism when results don’t go her way.
“I show how much I enjoy my life… A lot of people hate seeing women having fun. I just say ‘Fuck the haters!’ If I can help even one person to be themselves and not care about the hate, I’ll be the happiest person ever,” the world No. 72 told CLAY.
Authentic, open-minded and honest, Lys believes more light should be shed on homosexuality in men’s tennis, says she would hear offers from OnlyFans, as some players already have, and reflects on how she manages her mental health, which was not in a good place at times last year.
“You need to be mentally a badass to be able to get to the top,” said the Ukrainian-born player.
Interview with Eva Lys
– Do you miss home when you’re on the road?
– Yeah. I’m usually one of the first to come to the events, because I always need a little bit more time for my body to adjust to the climate and everything. So as soon as I lose, I just want to go home. Except if I’m in Melbourne or in New York. I’m happy whenever I get to see my family back in Hamburg.
– This interview is not going to be about tennis. We are not going to talk about your forehand and how you are adjusting your backhand.
– I like that, I love to talk. A lot of journalists have interesting personalities, they could bring so many interesting topics to press conferences, but the only thing they ask about is tennis, which is obviously the job we do. But I feel like a lot of interviews could go in so many different ways — talking about what a player is like, their character. Because I feel like a lot of people don’t even know how a tennis player is in real life.
– We like to get to know the characters in-depth.
– That’s what fans like. At the end of the day, you see the person on TV, and you connect with them not only because of what they do in the sport, but because of who they are. Maybe you share interests, or a personality trait. I usually like funny people. So if you don’t know how a player is off the court, it’s tough to connect and build a fan base. That’s what I always try to tell to everyone and push it to the WTA.
– Before the start of the Australian Open you had a pretty cool moment: well dressed, wearing fancy sunglasses during a Lacoste event, posing for the cameras with Grigor Dimitrov on one side and Novak Djokovic on the other.
– It was nice. Both Novak and Grigor are great personalities. I’m really happy that I’m working with Lacoste. It’s definitely been a big milestone in my career. It was my first activation with them, my first event. And honestly, I just got a really nice outfit. Have you seen the shoes? They were amazing! I told the designers: “Listen guys, if you want to go crazy with me, you can.” I feel like that’s missing in tennis. Coco (Gauff) is doing it, Naomi (Osaka) is doing it, but there are so many more players who could.
– Do you dream of becoming a fashion icon in tennis?
– That’s a strong way of saying it. I don’t think I’ll ever talk about myself like that. To take the next step off court, I know that I have to perform well on court and thats my goal. I feel that I can now express something I always wanted to express, especially with fashion and showing my own personality.
– You’ve spoken about breaking the stigma that surround female athletes. Can you go deeper into that?
– It comes from how we grow up. You’re taught that you have to play well to deserve having fun. If you win, you can go out, meet friends. If you lose, you don’t deserve it — you have to go back to work. But that’s not reality. Instagram is not always the life you are living, you show what you wanna show. And I show how much I enjoy my life.
– And that makes you an easy target.
– A lot of people like my style, but also it makes me very attackable when I don’t perform well. People don’t see that I’m practicing seven hours a day. They don’t see the work of 20 years. And as soon as you lose, they say: “Focus more on tennis, stop posting, stop going out.” People judge a lot. When I raised that topic on the podcast with Caro García, the funny thing is that most of the negative comments I got don’t come from athletes, and they don’t come from females. It’s mostly men. At the end of the day, if you’re a woman having fun outside of work, the stigma is still stronger. And I just want to break that, tell people to do whatever they like to do. I do whatever makes me happy.
– What makes you different on a tour that many times can feel so structured?
– I’m just trying to be myself. I’ve always had it a bit different because of my health, my body. I’ve always wanted to be physically stronger, tougher, but arthritis always got in the way. So I had to find balance. I needed something outside tennis to stay sane. Everyone has struggles. Mine is arthritis, someone else has something different. For me, the most important thing is joy. If I’m not having fun, enjoying myself, I don’t play well. If I put too much pressure in myself, if I’m nervous and I don’t sleep well because I want to perform well in the next match… I won’t. I suffer in practice, three hours on court every day. As soon as I did my work, my fitness… I can go out and do whatever I want.
– How much do WTA players go out and party like most of the people do?
– Some do. Players don’t normally talk about it openly. Some others don’t do that at all. They are completely locked in, they are only focusing on tennis and don’t do anything besides that. And that’s ok. Few girls, as soon as the tournament is finished, they like to go out, have dinner, maybe party a bit. You will see me going out dinner, however I’m not big into partying. In tennis you need to find discipline, otherwise you lose fitness, you loose too much if you stop an entire week. But everyone needs to find their own way.
– You’re one of the top 50 in the world, you have a captivating personality, and you’re also seen as both attractive and intelligent. How do you deal with that kind of attention without letting it go to your head?
– (laugh) I feel very lucky to have a great team around me. I never really think about those things. I just try to be myself and share my experiences. My family keeps me very humble. When I go home, I’m still the same Eva. I wanna show girls they can dress the way they like. Women get so much hate for everything they do. A lot of people hate seeing women having fun. I just say “Fuck the haters!” If I can help even one person to be themselves and not care about the hate, I’ll be the happiest person ever.
– Do many tennis players get into your DMs?
– (laughter) I cannot answer that. I’m gonna leave it with no comments.
– Would you date a tennis player?
– No.
– Why not?
– Because I know what it takes to be in this business. It consumes so much of your life. I’m trying to keep my private life far away from the sport. For me, it’s refreshing to have friends and interests outside of the sport. But you never know! For now, it’s a no.
– More and more players are joining OnlyFans: Nick Kyrgios, Alex Muller, Pedro Martínez, Arina Rodionova and Panna Udvardy are some of them. Have you received any approach from the platform?
– You gotta ask my management! (laughter) I honestly don’t know, not that I heard of. Good for them.
– Would you like to do something like that?
– That’s a good question. I always like to listen what brands have to offer. For now, I’m happy with all the brands I’m working with, so can’t really say that I would love to work with someone else.
– Are you getting a lot of offers from sponsors?
– I wouldn’t say it’s getting through the roof, but you can definitely see that people started noticing me. That makes me happy. At the end of the day I’ve always wanted to make money with the tennis and everything that comes with it. I’m coming closer and closer to just being independent…and that’s a nice feeling.
– What do you make of the fact that homosexuality in men’s tennis has long been seen as a taboo, and is only now starting to open up?
– Recently, a Swiss player came out (21-year-old Mika Brunold)… It’s definetly one topic that we haven’t heard from the male side. It’s there, it’s an important topic. I was very happy to know that players are feeling more comfortable to come out. It’s a tough situation for them, so it’s very brave of them. We need to talk more about it. It’s slowly getting raised, but the sport needs to voice it more.
— Do you feel the tour allows players to be themselves?
– All the tennis players on tour identify so much with the results they have: we get paid if we win. If we lose, we don’t get anything. If your ranking sinks your self confidence and your mental health suffers so much with that. A lot of players have the same feelings. Everyone loves you when you are winning, but if you are losing, no one is there. That’s why you need to have a good team around you.
– Are players taking care of their mental health?
– It’s getting better. The sport is faster, more physical, but what really decides matches is often the mental side. And off court, mental health is really important. A lot of players have to work on their mental health. I’m doing it. I go to therapy. Last year I had moments were I wasn’t doing well mentally. Pressure from yourself and from the outside… so many aspects that gets us nervous. That’s why I have insane respect for every who is out there in the top 10, top 20. Either if it’s ATP or WTA… because you need to be mentally a badass to be able to do all of that. When a colleague it’s in a bad place I always try to be there and support them.
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